I'm curious what would one have to do if you shoot a deer that you know you have hit and it runs across the national forest line into private property. You have no way of contacting an owner to gain permission and you don't feel comfortable crossing over for fear of trespassing or altercation. I guess this is sort of a baited question but I'm curious to hear the response.

I'm somewhat holding back with details but I have been told that as long as you leave your gun on the NF side that you can track a wounded animal across property lines with the intent to recover. This is just one persons word and I have nothing to back it up.

This is probably gonna get me flamed,but i feel i owe it to the animal to recover. I am willing to face a tresspassing charge to do so. I would make every legal effort to claim animal first, even call the local warden in for help before trespassing. Is property marked as no tresspass?

Well I'm not wanting to get into a heated debate with anyone, or get anyone "flamed" so I'll leave it at a question in hopes of getting a legal answer absent of personal bias or feeling. Bottom line is it happens, probably more than we like, but what is the legal responsibility and limitation of a hunter whose wounded game has crossed property lines. Ethically I "feel" that you should be able to persue your game without legal reprecussion of trespassing. Unfortunatley, not everyone "feels" the way I do.

As far as the no trespassing notice, the forest boundaries are clearly defined and if they are not, you as a hunter have the responsibility to educate yourself on your boundary limitations. I don't think that you have to post a "no trespassing" notice to keep people off of your property. Isn't it somewhat implied that if it is not your property and you don't have permission to be there, then you shouldn't?

I would go knock on his door. Tell him were I was hunting, explain to him the whole sitution, ask him if he would like to walk were ever with me to show him what i am talking about and hopefully were can come to an agreement over a simple problem. if not then i would call the man and let him deal with it. i would just go be going ninja over peoples fences because some crazy old man might go to far. but each is on and people make there own decisions.

Couple of years ago a bowhunter (kid) shot one out behind my parent's house. Got excited and did not give the buck time to bleed out. It ran through my paren'ts yard and down a subdivision street before it crashed nearly on someones front porch. They were anti-hunters and called the sherriff. Did not want to let the kid take the deer. Don't know what the outcome was....

I'm very careful not to take a shot if I think the animal will jump toward private property but you never know when they will spin and go the other direction.

Trespassing without a weapon is a misdemeaner (I think) and trespassing with a weapon is a felony, as said before. It doesn't matter what for.
You only legal option is to call the warden. Otherwise, you are open to prosecution if caught.

Razor is correct. If you have no obvious way to contact the landowner, then call a game warden. That still may not work, but at least you've done your best. Other than that, commit to hunting further from the boundary...

You have an obligation to pursue the animal until you have exhausted all ave.'s.
Legally you can not cross a fence to track an animal. However, there is a bit of a loop hold. If the property is not marked as private then you may do so. However, the "marked" part is the catch. That could be with a fence, purple paint, or a sign.

If it happened to me I would make every effort to find the animal. If I could see it across the fence I would probably go get it, but that is just me. If it was just property and no house on it I would probably venture in a bit looking for the deer, and if it went too much more I would contact the game warden. If there was a house on it I would go knock on the door and ask permission. I have shot a couple deer in the past that went on private property. One was only 20 yards on the other side and I could see it from the fence and it was just 1000 acres with no house on it. I retrieved the deer and nothing was harmed. Other times I have contacted other neighbors asking about the property in question and tried for a couple hours to contact the owner. All the neighbors said they did not think he would have a problem and I made a judgment call and tracked the deer until I found it. Now I NEVER go on someones property with a gun, bow or knife. If I get a ticket it would be just a trespassing ticket and I can accept that.

Most opinions on here are normally valid, leave any weapon on the public side of the fence for sure!!!!! I would jump the fence, but thats just this mans opinion. Just make sure it's not leased out hunting land, that might get you shot at! I have heard of it happening onmore than a few occasions!!!!

If you contact the game warden he will (at least in my case) help you contact the property owner. But if the property owner denies you permission to retrieve your animal then that's the end of it. The game warden informed me that neither he nor I could trespass to look for the animal. I had done all I could to recover the deer so I was legal but it still stunk.
And as said above don't cross a fence or go on property posted with signs or purple paint with a weapon.

When it's all said and done however a fella has to do what a fella has to do. Just don't get caught.

ran into this problem this year. called game warden he came out,contacted land owner and got permission for him to track the deer. he told us that if we crossed over without permission we could be charged with a felony or class a mis. depends on what land owner wanted to do. be smart about it!

Ok Question solved. Call a game warden and you and him can cross any state, county, or boundaries lines to retrieve a downed animal. Never cross it without permission, You do not want this citation, With a weapon it is a felony arrest, without it is still being arrested. Im pretty sure you dont want this. Also most public lands have people on site who are willing to assist.

Being a person who’s property borders public hunting land I will give my two cents. In the past I have had people steal, break, and poach animals on our private property whom crossed public land to get there. And as you can imagine they all have the same story “I am looking for a wounded animal” BS they are not all looking for wounded animals. So considering that I have had my stuff that I bought and paid for stolen its hard to know who and who not to trust. I personally feel that a responsible hunter will call the game warden and see if he can be of any assistance finding a way to call the land owner also shows responsibility. Merely crossing private property thinking all is well and you are willing to take this and that is NOT a good ideal, you need to ask yourself is that animal worth dying over because when I have confronted individuals on my property I take them up to the house and let the sheriff deal with it. I don’t mean to be an @$$ but its hard to tell the good guys from the bad. As far as crossing the fence with a weapon we had some one who got stuck with, trespassing, a felony and poaching at some point you need to ask is it worth it.

Your first act should be to document as much as you can. Call the game warden AND the Park Ranger first! A record of the call will be on your phone if needed in the future (one thing is clear, it does not matter if you call or not if you go on without permission your trespassing). Take a picture with your camera or phone from where you shot the deer from. When the Game Warden arrives it would be best if there was a blood trail starting on public land that he could testify about to the land owner, thats a real big help in this situation. Have the game warden go with you to talk to the owner if possible. Having the game warden with you increases your integrity with the land owner. If you do decide to go over without permission make sure and leave everything behind you including your knife pocket or sheath.

If you need to and you have a real testy land owner you can tell them that you will donate half of the deer to the local shelter so that he feel that the kill will go to a good cause. If you need to you can also offer to pay him for a day lease if you really want that big buck in your hands!!

Retrieval of Game: No person may pursue a wounded wildlife resource across a property line without the consent of landowner of the property where the wildlife resource has fled. Under the trespass provisions of the Penal Code, a person on a property without the permission of the landowner is subject to arrest.

just dont do it. private land is not yours. call the man and have him with you when you make contact with the land owner. just about respect. you wouldnt want anyone in your backyard without your permission so why would he.

This is probably gonna get me flamed,but i feel i owe it to the animal to recover. I am willing to face a tresspassing charge to do so. I would make every legal effort to claim animal first, even call the local warden in for help before trespassing. Is property marked as no tresspass?

Directly from the TPWD Outdoor Annual and the website under Criminal Penalties and General Law:

Retrieval of Game: No person may pursue a wounded wildlife resource across a property line without the consent of landowner of the property where the wildlife resource has fled. Under the trespass provisions of the Penal Code, a person on a property without the permission of the landowner is subject to arrest.

Regardless of the property being POSTED or not, no one has the authority to enter private property unless you have been given landowner permission to enter, with or without a firearm, bow, or any type of method of taking game. If you enter with a Means or Method (firearm or archery equipment) it goes from a misdemeanor to a state jail felony.

How many would like someone trespassing on your home property that you haven't given permission to be on and they hunt, fish, trap or whatever, much less carrying a firearm or bow/arrows with them?

Those that would jump a fence even if you could see it and take the animal without permission, you could very well end up going to jail and if it was on MY property, I WOULD prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. What gives the right to pursue the game on anyone's land without their permission? None! Just as if someone would set up camp in your front yard, spread out a picnic and lawn chairs or pull out a shotgun and shoot doves during the open season or bow hunt for deer, hogs, etc.; would YOU allow that or just welcome those who do it? I severely doubt you would, so why do it yourself? That is not what I would call an ethical, legal outdoorsman or woman, but a trespasser, poacher and thief since they are NOT following the set regulations and have zero regard for them and that individual's property.